quarantining materials

[Fatman]

Anyone who's been on FAOL for a while knows who Ron Lucas is!!! I link his article from another site as I've had it marked since I first read it. No where do you see freezer mentioned in his article. I've been using Ron's cleaning method since I first read it and I haven't had any pests!!!! only thing I do different is a piece of flea collar in my Zip bags.

Ron is right material prep takes time, but it works and it's worth it.

http://www.hatchesmagazine.com/page/february2006/111

[Joe Billingsley]

I don't know, guys. In 40 years I haven't read very many articles or heard any speakers at all about eliminating bugs from tying materials that didn't recommend freezing as one of, if not the best way, to eliminate pests. It's definitely the safest if you're not good with chemicals (I'm not)) and if you're not ever sure how long to zap them in the microwave without destroying the materials along with the bugs. In an article here on FAOL - Care of Hackle and Keeping the Bugs Out in the Tying Tips section - Dennis Conrad (Conranch Hackle) even recommends doing the freezer killing at least twice every year. In Ronn's good article that Fatman cited, I don't believe he ever mentions bugs or killing them, just cleaning the materials. There are a couple of ways insects survive freezing temperatures, such as: 1) they find a warm place, like burrowing into the ground or in the fur of a warm animal or move in with us in our warm houses; and, 2) some produce sugars and alcohols in their body fluids - their own personal antifreeze - but that builds up gradually throughout the fall season. It will dissipate when they are exposed to warm temperatures, which is one of the reasons to take the materials out of the freezer for a few days and then put them back in. Another reason is that some insect eggs are not effected by the freezing temperatures as the adults are but will become active right after they warm up. You get two shots at them.

Joe

[Greg H]

... some produce sugars and alcohols in their body fluids - their own personal antifreeze - but that builds up gradually throughout the fall season. It will dissipate when they are exposed to warm temperatures, which is one of the reasons to take the materials out of the freezer for a few days and then put them back in. Another reason is that some insect eggs are not effected by the freezing temperatures as the adults are but will become active right after they warm up. You get two shots at them.
Joe

This is exactly why the freezer works. First you freeze them to kill any that have insufficient anti-freeze. Then you thaw them and either they revive or they hatch. Then, before they can build up any anti-freeze, you freeze them again and kill all.

As for cleaning, I did receive a pheasant skin a few years ago and soaked it for a couple hours in a solution with Dawn and then rinsed well - hanging to dry. The feathers were glossy and easier to deal with, and you should have seen the sand and grit left in the water.
As for squirrel tails, once dried out - they have almost zero meat so they don't need to be skinned - they are wash in shampoo and then cream rinse. Soft and smooth tail hair results.

[ducksterman]

T
As for squirrel tails, once dried out - they have almost zero meat so they don't need to be skinned - they are wash in shampoo and then cream rinse. Soft and smooth tail hair results.

So why the cream rinse? Soft and smooth makes them harder to tie...plus IMHO it may add an undesirable odor to the fishies.

BTW I just today shampooed 17 tails and did not creme rinse or add conditioner....I'm not a cosmetologist.

I am not trying to be confrontive..to me it just makes sense...it's an opinion which we try to exchange here.....